Courtesy of Natalie Coughlin Hall of Gaderian Wines
This is my variation of my Great Grandma Aguillon’s ukoy recipe from my cookbook Cook To Thrive. It’s essentially a Filipino shrimp fritter. It pairs perfectly with our Chenin Blanc. The implied sweetness from the tropical and honeyed aromas of the Chenin are a perfect match for the natural, briny sweetness of shrimp. The acid from the Chenin cleanses the palate for each bite. Cheers!
Shrimp Fritters
- ½ pound shrimp (25/30 count), deveined and shell removed, roughly cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 ¼ cup corn starch
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 envelope of Lipton onion soup (1 ounce packet)
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ cup mung bean sprouts
- 1 cup peeled, grated carrot (about 1 medium carrot)
- 1 cup peeled, grated sweet potato (about ½ small sweet potato)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¾ cup water
- 2 cups canola oil, for frying
- Kosher salt, for seasoning
- Dipping Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, or Filipino cane vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 garlic clove, minced into a paste
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
Method:
- Line a wire rack with several layers of paper towel and place over a baking sheet.
- Whisk all the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small bowl, making sure that the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the corn starch, flour, onion soup packet and baking powder.
- In a separate medium sized bowl mix the the egg, water and pepper and stir until well blended. Fold in the shrimp, bean sprouts, sweet potato and carrot into the mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and fold until well incorporated. The mixture should be more wet than a pancake batter, but not as thin as a crepe batter. If it is too thin, add a tablespoon or so of all-purpose flour. If it is too thick, add a tablespoon or so of water.
- At this point you can cover the mixture and let it rest in the fridge until you’re ready to fry. Much like a pancake batter, allowing the mixture to rest lets the liquid absorb into the dry ingredients.
- Heat about 2 inches of canola oil in a large saucepan or wok to about 350F.
- Scoop the mixture using a ¼ cup measuring cup. I like to hold the measuring cup in my left hand and slide it out with a large spoon in my right hand. Fry for about 3 to 4 minutes to either side, or until golden brown and crisp. If the oil is too hot, the fritter will burn before the inside is cooked. If it is too cold, it will be greasy. You want the mixture to vigorously bubble when it hits the oil, but not bubble violently. Remove the fritter from the mixture using a spider and place on the prepared baking sheet. Immediately season with a small pinch of Kosher salt. Repeat in batches with the remaining batter, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Remove any bits and pieces of batter that remain in the pan in between batches.
- Serve hot with the dipping sauce.
